IPL Fantasy 2018, RR vs CSK: 4 tips to help you earn big today
Well, SRH have entered the playoffs now and tonight, we will find if Chennai Super Kings can take a step closer and if that happens, it will end Rajasthan Royals' campaign in IPL 2018. This is going to be a tricky game for fantasy users so here are some suggestions to pick your team:
The pitch factor
Perhaps the most important factor to consider here is the pitch. It can actually make or break us in fantasy depending on the way it behaves. The surface at Jaipur has surprised us this season. Initially, it was expected that it would aide pace and bounce like it had done before when the Royals turned it into their fortress but this season, it's been quite slow. Scoring runs haven't been easy and with the boundaries also being big, no wonder we haven't witnessed big scores as frequently as we have seen at other venues.
Anticipating another slow deck, I would recommend picking as many allrounders as possible because that's the safe way to go forward. You pick players who can contribute with both bat and ball. Even though they might not contribute in a massive way, you will still fetch points from both departments. And yes, spinners will hold the key as well like they always do on slower surfaces.
Watson and Stokes to be ignored
I know it sounds contradictory. I just recommended users to pick players who can contribute with both bat and ball but in the case of Shane Watson and Ben Stokes, there are certain factors to be considered. With Stokes, it's very easy. The man hasn't been in any form. He was expected to rule the IPL once again like he did last season but Stokes has been nothing short of a disappointment. It just doesn't appear that he will find his form with bat or ball anytime soon. In such a scenario, investing so much money on Stokes is a very bad idea.
Watson, on the other hand, has showcased good form in the IPL this season but with the surface expected to be slow, I don't expect him to do well here. He has batted well on pitches that were good for batting but here, he might be bogged down and depart before making a big score. With the ball, he isn't going to be used often on this surface especially if CSK go in with plenty of bowling options like they did last time. So the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, K Gowtham, Dwayne Bravo seem to be better options than these two.
Rahane - OUT, Buttler - IN
It's actually quite interesting. One would expect Rahane to shine on surfaces that don't produce big scores. He can get to bide his time and play his natural game but unfortunately, he has been struggling. And on spinner-friendly surfaces, he also generally finds it hard to rotate the strike. That will eventually get him to play a false stroke and lose his wicket.
Jos Buttler, on the other hand, has surprised us with his mature knocks. He blitzed his way to a fifty at Indore before playing a mature knock at Jaipur against KXIP again. In this form, it's a huge risk to leave him out, so no matter what, he should be your first-choice gloveman for this clash.
CSK's combination
They are going to keep us guessing for sure. It's very hard to pick players from CSK for this clash simply because of the way they have toyed with their playing XI for the previous games. Will Faf come back? Or will Willey continue to play? What about Imran Tahir? Will he get a game on this helpful surface or will CSK go back to Karn? So many questions but very little answers. And hence, it's very important to not take big calls. Personally, I would advise
against picking any of those players mentioned above. Play it safe, pick the ones who are expected to be regular starters.